This December, we are getting a new Star Wars film, “Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens”. Being a continuation of “Jedi” from 1983, the whole world is waiting eagerly for the film. While most people think it will be a good film, many others are nervous. Could it possibly live up to the Original Trilogy? What if it turns out like the prequels? What if it sucks?

In my opinion, not only will this be a good Star Wars film, but I think it will be the best Star Wars film since “Jedi.” “Revenge of the Sith” was easily the best of the prequels, however I believe that “Episode VII” will be better. These are the reasons why:

J.J. Abrams has been announced as the director

It was announced in January 2013 that “Star Trek” helmer J.J. Abrams would take the director’s chair, a chair that was filled by George Lucas since 1999. This change is huge for many reasons. First of all, despite popular belief, Lucas didn’t actually direct “The Empire Strikes Back” nor “Return of the Jedi.” Basically, Lucas directed one great Star Wars film, one good one, and two mediocre and depressingly disappointing ones. Abrams has a great track record as the director of both “Star Trek” and “Star Trek Into Darkness.” While Star Trek is nothing like Star Wars (thank God), it is a sci-fi action epic much like Star Trek. Also, Abrams is a huge Star Wars fan himself, all but confirming that the film will be in a similar style to the Original Trilogy as well as being humbly faithful. In a similar fashion, Colin Trevorrow, a longtime Jurassic Park fan, directed this year’s “Jurassic World,” which is currently the third highest grossing film of all time in both North America and Worldwide. In addition, Abrams also directed “Super 8,” another solid sci-fi flick. To put it bluntly, I believe in J.J.

It is Written by Lawrence Kasdan

Easily the worst thing about the Prequels was the writing. George Lucas, writer and director of Episodes I, II, and III, has many great ideas without a doubt. After all, he did write and direct “A New Hope”, to date the only Star Wars film to be nominated for Best Picture. However, his screenwriting, to say the least, sucks. He is the one responsible for writing dialogue such as, “I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Not like here. Here everything is soft and smooth.” Exit George Lucas and enter Lawrence Kasdan. Most people reading this are probably wondering, “Who’s Lawrence Kasdan?” Kasdan is a writer, obviously, who has been nominated for 4 Oscars. Among his body of work includes classics such as “The Big Chill” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark”. Not to mention, he also wrote “The Empire Strikes Back” and “Return of the Jedi”. Abrams, who is no slouch at writing, also helped write the film. Abrams wrote and created now classic TV shows such as “Lost”, “Felicity”, and “Alias”, the show that put both Jennifer Garner and Bradley Cooper on the map.

The Cast

Arguably the most exciting thing about the film is that the film will reunite much of the cast from the Original Trilogy which will include Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Warwick Davis. Alongside the veterans, many young, exciting actors are also set to join. Some of these new actors include the fantastic Oscar Isaac, who is easily one of my favorite newcomers after seeing him in the criminally underseen “Ex Machina”, and Adam Driver, who is currently set to play the main antagonist Kylo Ren. Other newcomers include Andy Serkis (“King Kong”, “The Lord of the Rings Trilogy”), Max Von Sydow (“The Exorcist”, “The Seventh Seal”), John Boyega (“Attack the Block”), Simon Pegg (“Star Trek”, “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation”), Gwendoline Christie (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”), and Domhnall Gleeson (“Ex Machina”, “True Grit”). While many bad films have had great casts (I’m looking at you “North”), I have a strong feeling that the new young stars will blend perfectly with the grizzled vets.

The franchise has had its ups and downs

As I mentioned earlier, while Star Wars is easily one of the most acclaimed and beloved movie franchises of all time, it has experienced several road bumps. At this point, it seems like beating a dead horse by saying that “The Phantom Menace” and “Attack of the Clones” were very mediocre, but it’s the truth. The sad, honest truth. Even after “Revenge of the Sith”, Lucas tried to make ANOTHER entry, this time an animated film entitled “The Clone Wars”. This one was so bad that it literally made Episodes I and II look more like “Empire”. This balance of success and failure is huge, as it gives Abrams a sort of rough outline of dos and don’ts .

Conclusion
All in all, “The Force Awakens” will be absolutely huge regardless of quality, however if it has any aspirations of taking down “Jurassic World” at the year’s end box office, then it needs to bring its A game. Not only do I think it will definitely be a quality film, but I also think that it will be the best Star Wars film since “Jedi”. Will it be better than “A New Hope” or “Empire”? Will it gross more money than “Jurassic World”? I doubt it, but anything is possible. May the force be with “Star Wars: Episode VII”.